FPGA Editor video tutorialHaving made several FPGA projects for my clients, I've learned that most of them are reluctant to use the Xilinx FPGA Editor. While most seem to realize that's it's a valuable tool, few really grasp the enormous advantage it offers, in particular when debugging FPGA designs: The possibilities to view the FPGA down to the level of the basic logic elements, as well as making small, yet arbitrary changes, without needing to go through place and route again. This opens for several techniques, which make a huge difference in the frustration of debugging, not to mention time.Maybe because the documentation is currently somewhat laconic (anyone seen a good user's reference manual?) most people skip this tool. The video tutorial presented below should make you friends with the tool. It doesn't cover nearly all functionality, but focuses on the things you need to get started, and also do a few useful things. It's a private initiative, so Xilinx are of course not responsible for anything said in it. It was shot in December 2007, showing the tools of ISE 9.2. Published on Youtube, the tutorial is given in three parts: Part 1: IntroductionTopics covered:
Part 2: Using the FPGA EditorThis part is a demonstration of how internals can be viewed, and how to make changes in a placed and routed design. Topics covered:
Part 3: Routing any net to a physical pinHow to watch any signal within your FPGA design with a regular oscilloscope, almost as easy as in the pre-FPGA times, when all signals were physically exposed on the board. Topics covered:
Last modified on Thu May 17 17:30:00 2012. E-mail:
|